You laugh, but at least I'm prepared

A quick follow-up to Space Rogue's Preparedness article

Kingpin
L0pht Heavy Industries
www.L0pht.com (L - zero - pht)
13-Dec-99

Beginnings

This article is a brief addendum to Space Rogue's Preparedness article of 12-Feb-99. I have recently completed the final purchase of the list and feel that I'm sufficiently prepared for survival in the field. The entire acquisition spanned a few weeks, but could probably be done in a few days given adequate time and money. My contents vary a bit from Space Rogue's original recommendations, based on the fact that my surrounding environment is urban, not country or forest. What follows is a breakdown of price and equipment and a practical look at how to get prepared.

Acquisition and Price Breakdown

My quest began as I lay sick in bed after receiving a flu shot. Don't ask. Isn't the flu shot to prevent one from getting sick? Anyway, I decided to drag my ass around my place to collect some goods. It turns out I had most of the smaller items lying around, which saved a few bucks in the long run.

Home supplies

Zip-Lock Freezer Bags
Cold-weather gloves
Wool knit cap (rolls down to cover full face)
'Spandoflage' full-face camouflage netting
Shomer-Tec 'Riot Buster' smoke grenade (100,000 cubic feet of white smoke)
Needle and thread
Soap
Toilet paper
Razor
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Band-Aids
Tissues (Kleenex)
4' x 4' gauze pads
PowerBars (Malt Nut, yuck!)
Insta-Glucose (Glucose Gel for Low Blood Sugar - good energy quick)
Mag-Lite Flashlight
Extra AA batteries
Emergency foil 'space blanket' (excellent for heat retention - given out at the end of marathons)
Sleeping bag with pouch
Snivel gear, top and bottom (Duofold)
Five cotton socks
Four pairs of underwear
Four short-sleeved cotton T-shirts
One long-sleeved cotton T-shirt
Bota Safari Outback Deluxe water filtration kit (22oz. bottle with filter)
Fresh Nap moist towelettes
Four packs of matches
Four 1-liter bottled spring water

TOTAL = $0.00 (free)

A few days later, healthy and out on the move, my quest continued. My next stop was the local CVS to finish collecting the easy-to-find, non-military items. CVS makes a number of generic products that are up to par with the matching name brand products. My choosing of the generic brand over the well-known name brands saved approximately 40%.

CVS supplies

Six packages Ramen Noodle Soup, Shrimp flavor
Antifungal foot powder, $3.39
Sunblock lotion, SPF 15, $4.99
Small flip-up mirror, $1.99
Bic lighter 2-pack, $2.39
Unscented baby wipes 12-pack, $0.99
Non-aspirin pain reliever, $3.79
Hydrogen Peroxide, $0.59
Instant antibacterial hand sanitizer gel
Chapstick

TOTAL = $25.81

The majority of my purchases came from the Boston-area Mass. Army/Navy stores. For some reason, most of the Army/Navy stores in the Boston and surrounding areas have been closing or are already closed down. My conspiracy-theory side believes the government is buying back all surplus in expectation of a large military undertaking. The rest of me doesn't care why they are closing, only the fact that all items were 20% to 50% off. Most of my items were from the first trip to the Boylston Street store. The second trip, two weeks later, was to the Central Square location where I grabbed the few items I couldn't find anywhere else.

Mass. Army/Navy, Boylston Street location

Trioxane compressed fuel, $2.60
Five-piece mess kit, $3.89
Sting-eze (bug bite pain reliever), $2.27
Alice pack large setup w/ frame, $63.74
Alice pack shoulder straps, $11.69
US Army-issue Pussy Pad, $9.09
Entrenching tool (pick, shovel and cover), $9.09
Four pair wool socks, $9.57
M.R.E. (Vegetarian Pasta Fagioli, meal #3), $4.89

TOTAL = $116.83 + tax = $121.95

Mass. Army/Navy, Central Square location

Cold weather BDU shirt, $12.47
Vietnam black Jungle Boots, $14.99

TOTAL = $27.46 (they didn't charge me tax!)

The next set of military-style purchases came online from Brigade Quartermasters Ltd. (www.actiongear.com). After getting all I could from the local Mass. Army/Navy stores, I didn't have anywhere else in the area to go to. I resorted to the web. I considered buying from U.S. Cavalry (www.uscav.com), but their stock wasn't as good and their prices were much higher. One problem with buying online, aside from the numerous security issues, is that you have to pay shipping and you can't try on the clothes. Luckily, most of the items I needed were small and/or 'one size fits all'.

Brigade Quartermasters

100MPH tape, $7.99
100 yards 550 Nylon cord (Type 5), $19.99
6 feet, 7/16' diameter Nylon Assault Rappelling Rope, $5.34
GI Woodland Camouflage Ripstop Lightweight Poncho, $39.99
Eagle II Folding Lockblade Knife, free w/ order over $50

TOTAL = $73.31 + $7.95 shipping = $81.26

I received these items at my 'real job' and quickly proceeded to don the camouflage poncho (with hood!) and prance around the office. I still needed a few more items and stopped by some various stores to complete the quest.

Radio Shack

AM/FM Pocket Radio w/ internal speaker, $9.99 + tax = $10.49

Generic Hardware Store

Leather work gloves, $5.99 + tax = 6.29

Brainerd Army Store

Trioxane compressed fuel, $0.74
BDU Combat Trousers (new), $29.96

TOTAL = $30.70 + tax = $33.23

Eastern Mountain Sports

Potable Aqua water purification tablets, $5.00
Suunto A-10 partner II Compass, $8.50

TOTAL = $13.50 + tax = $14.17

Packing (i.e. What the hell do I do with all this stuff?!)

Sort out your items by purpose, i.e. medical, food, hygiene, etc. After you've packed everything into Zip-Lock bags, layer the gear into the ruck as follows:

Food on the bottom
Poncho in the middle large outside pouch
Cold weather gear on the top
Pussy pad under the straps that hold the top down
Sleeping bag attached to the bottom
At least one canteen attached to the outside
First Aid kit somewhere easily accessible
Somehow fit everything else inside

Happy holidays.

Total equipment cost = $320.66

-Kingpin